In 2020, a whopping 69% of marketers reported having a content strategy (smartinsights.com). This statistic is far less impressive, however, if you’re not sure what a content strategy is.
So, let’s start with the basics.
Let’s start with this: what’s the point of a great idea without a plan for seeing it through?
We’ve all seen great ideas divebomb in the workplace. But how often is this due to the quality of the idea itself, as opposed to a lack of thoughtful implementation?
A content strategy mitigates this problem. But what is it, exactly?
A content strategy is the ongoing, dynamic process of transforming your business goals and objectives into a plan – a plan, of course, that uses great content as the primary means of achieving those goals.
Of course, in order to make sure you’re ‘backwards designing’ from your business goals, you’re going to need to be clear on exactly what those are. You might like to consult your business’ strategic plan or vision/goals/aims document before you begin.
Of course, content strategy doesn’t exist in isolation. There are lots of other steps your business can take to make sure you’re achieving your goals.
But when just less than 80% of the population is on social media these days (Statista 2019), it’s clear that creating engaging, beautifully aligned content should be at the heart of your strategic goals.
Video production companies and animation companies are well-versed at creating content – but what makes the process even more exciting, is when there’s solid, mutual agreement on the goals the content is trying to achieve.
Of course, we can always help you with that.
Before we get stuck into what your content strategy might look like, let’s understand first what (digital) content actually is.
Digital content is any information that exists in the form of digital data and is broadcast, streamed or otherwise to an audience.
Examples of content include:
…and much, much more.
You might like to begin by taking note of the content platforms (both internal and external) that your business currently has access to, identifying those which you utilise productively and those which may take some time to revitalise.
You might also ask yourself what % of your content is currently produced internally (by employees) and externally (by video production companies or animation companies), and whether or not that split is a good fit for your current budget/circumstances.
A strategy for creating and publishing this content (your content strategy) can take many forms. To make sure you choose the right one, first consider how the content you will publish can achieve the goals you set out in your business plan.
Now, it’s time to get stuck into the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of your strategy. Once you’re clear on your business goals, you can start to understand how your content will achieve them.
Start with questions like this:
Questions like this will get you thinking about the type of content you can/want to produce, and whether or not this will be produced in-house or externally.
Once you’lve workshopped your answers to these questions, it’s time to get thinking about what your content strategy will actually look like!
There’s one main thing to remember at this point, and it’s that a great content strategy is both an approach (intangible) and a documented process (tangible).
That’s where we can differentiate between content strategy and a content strategy document.
A content strategy document can take many forms. Our professional opinion is, however, that it it’s the way the document is treated that has most importance.
What good, for example, is a document that is produced, read once, and never again opened?
At Pickle Pictures, we advocate for content strategy documents that are:
They could take the form of:
…and much more.
The main thing to remember? Your content strategy is a living, breathing tool that – if treated well – will help you continue to grow and nurture your client base and audiences.
Content strategy documents often contain subsections and subheadings like:
…and much more. The most important thing is that your content strategy – at all times – remains closely linked to achieving the goals and objectives of your business.
Of course, if you need any help with this, you know where to find us – your resident content strategy experts with over 20+ years’ collective experience in strategy-imbued video and animated content production.